Video: ‘Shit People Say To Strippers’ Is The Latest Reappropriation Of The Meme

Earlier today, an acquaintance posted something truly asinine and ignorant about strippers to my Facebook wall, and it made me super annoyed. I’m used to having my blog posts trolled but that’s a safe space, dammit! Needing to counteract the effect her words had had on my mood, I headed over to for-and-by-sex-workers blog Tits and Sass and found precisely what I was looking for: a video that skewers the things people say to (and about) strippers. BOOM, ROASTED. In my head, at least.

The clip satirizes not one, not two, but three types of people: the clueless, naive person who thinks that being a stripper is akin to being a glamorous, confident (but potentially molested) money-making superhero; the equally clueless, ostensibly “feminist” asshole who’s convinced she knows you better than you know yourself; and the kinds of male patrons who constitute the not-so-fun parts of a stripper’s night.

And if that weren’t enough socially conscious, sex-positive, and yes, feminist re-appropriation of what started out as a somewhat sexist meme, here is one about the shit people say to sex workers:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pnlrBhxReM?version=3]

I’m not saying we can’t have productive discussions about sex work, and I’m not saying there aren’t aspects of it that can be problematic. Many sex workers would agree with this statement. (And some wouldn’t! Different people are different.) But part of being a true ally to other women is entering the conversation in good faith, and knowing when to shut up and listen. And please refrain from making rude assumptions about other people’s past, their character, or their other psychological makeup. If you can’t do this because it’s the right thing to do, do it so you don’t get called out by a disgruntled sex worker someday. You’re welcome.